Chapter 136: The Circuit Garment

[You can hear the cold, mechanical voice echoing through the train.]

After finishing the broadcast, Chen Qi let out a long sigh. The furnace spiders on this train had to be dealt with. With the death of the Cocoon Witch, the intensity of the disasters plaguing the train had diminished significantly, though they still lingered.

He looked at the mechanical control panel; within it lay a piece of crucial information.

[Cleaning Mode: If the train sustains sufficient damage, it will enter Cleaning Mode. At that time, all defensive weapons on the train will attack all living things indiscriminately to achieve absolute purification. Note: When the mechanical hub is destroyed, or if the conductor himself issues a forced command, the Weaving Train will also enter this mode.]

A terrifying mode of indiscriminate attack. Even though the conductor had just fallen into a disadvantageous position, as he had claimed, this was his territory, and he was far from exhausting all his hidden cards. The Cocoon Witch had deceived the conductor, but the conductor had also hidden many of the terrifying weapons on the train.

Chen Qi exhaled. The steam train was currently battered and bruised, and he did not know the threshold for triggering this Cleaning Mode. On this train, he was on the side of the passengers, and their survival was in his best interest. Therefore, Chen Qi decided to use the broadcast to boost the morale of the passengers and encourage them. Moreover, the cooldown for the Weaving Train's next "cannon blast" would be ready soon.

[Hearing the broadcast, hope ignited in everyone's hearts. Your words greatly boosted the morale of the passengers, and they all began to rally!]

["Phew..." The conductor straightened his back, looked out into the thick white fog, and let out a long sigh. They had won. And his precious train, along with the passengers who had arrived here, had not suffered too much damage.]

["My thanks, guest. Otherwise, the aftermath of today's events would have ranked among the top three most dangerous situations this train has ever encountered." The conductor sat on a bench in the forge carriage. For every second earlier the Cocoon Witch had been dealt with, fewer people on the train would have died. Although there were many horrific rumors about the Weaving Train, most of them were true. The reason the train could continue to operate was that it was not classified as a "disaster," and the train itself served the important role of transporting goods. Once too many people died, it would inevitably attract the attention of the Black River Prison Investigation Tribunal and the Disaster Messengers, or even direct intervention from the White Day Clock Tower! In New Capital, mass casualties were the greatest of taboos; this would not only attract the direct gaze of the "Candle Eye" but would also breed horrifying disasters. At that point, his train would likely not fare well, and he himself might very well end up imprisoned in Black River Prison.]

Candle Eye? What was that term? Chen Qi scratched his head and searched for it on the forum. The post about the Candle Eye was behind a paywall, but there was a limited-time free promotion during the open beta. Chen Qi clicked on the post.

Much like the bells of New Capital, the Candle Eye was a mechanism that covered the entire city. Simply put, when a large number of casualties occurred somewhere in New Capital, a black eye would appear at that location. The Candle Eye would then transmit everything it saw to the Investigators' base. Just like the bells, this was a method used by New Capital to prevent major disasters.

Usually, if a large-scale casualty event occurred, it meant a terrifying disaster had been born. Besides this, the Candle Eye could appear in other situations; most commonly, the Disaster Messengers and the top management of each district had the authority to directly summon the Candle Eye. The Fog City incident in District 8 of New Capital, the Hell Dragon event in District 6... all these major events had been marked by the appearance of the Candle Eye. In short, this "Candle Eye" was a major disaster alarm for New Capital, triggered whenever heavy casualties occurred. At the end of the post, the author warned that any place where the "Candle Eye" was triggered meant the situation was extremely severe, and it was best to evacuate immediately.

Chen Qi looked at the compiler of the post; it was once again the top-tier player, "Investigator." Truly worthy of someone acting as a Disaster Messenger in the game—they really knew a lot. Chen Qi pondered; it seemed the conductor was very worried about his train being watched by the Candle Eye, which would trigger a series of problems. The train itself was already tainted with many strange disasters, which was precisely why they had been unable to discover that the Cocoon Witch’s puppets were man-made.

Chen Qi continued reading the text.

[After resting for a moment, the conductor began to find ways to stop the furnace spiders.]

Chen Qi let out a long breath, and the tension in his body slowly began to fade. With the mastermind, the Cocoon Witch, dead, the train was no longer interfered with by puppets, and the passengers were revitalized after the broadcast. Following the train's next round of artillery fire, the swarm of furnace spiders was quickly eradicated. Order on the train gradually returned...

Not long after, Chen Qi looked at the game again. A highlighted line of text popped up.

[Under the guidance of the broadcast, everyone worked together, coordinating with the train's defensive cannon array to repel the furnace spider swarm!]

[The train emerged from the abyss of white fog. You sat atop the carriage, looking up at the bright laughing moon in the sky!]

[The train arrived at the plains.]

Phew... Chen Qi exhaled and looked at the text. After the battle came the time to divide the spoils.

[Many passengers had already arrived at the forge carriage, surrounding the conductor.]

[At the front of the train, some VIPs had even killed three furnace spider kings!]

[After thanking you for providing the intelligence—without you telling them about the Cocoon Witch, their situation would have been much more dangerous—they heard the voices of the crowd. Unable to name you, they began to suspect that you were a disguised Disaster Messenger or Investigator.]

[Immediately after, these passengers united and began to demand rewards from the conductor!]

[According to the agreement, for every furnace spider killed, they would receive White Day Coins. The crowd shouted, urging the conductor to bring out the White Day Coins and his masterpiece!]

[The conductor looked at his beloved train; at least it had not sustained too much damage. He gritted his teeth and, not being stingy with his wealth, distributed the White Day Coins he had earned over the past few years to the people who had helped.]

[You sat on the roof of the carriage, watching the noisy crowd in the forge carriage.]

They didn't come to him first to split the goods? Chen Qi thought to himself. He was, after all, a key member in defeating the Cocoon Witch.

[Someone knocked on your shoulder from behind. You sniffed; it was a familiar scent.]

[You turned around to see the conductor’s assistant, Zhi. Three of her hands were broken, and she was covered in blood, but she was still alive; the Cocoon Witch had not killed her. Fortunately, the Cocoon Witch was not bloodthirsty; she preferred making puppets.]

[You looked at her bloody wounds.]

["Small injuries, guest." The assistant didn't seem to care about the pain. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was distracted, she secretly handed you a box.]

[Immediately after, the assistant Zhi made a "shh" gesture. On this train, there were some desperate treasure hunters. Zhi reminded you that it was best to be careful, although most of them were likely no match for you and would not dare to make a move against a plant-gatherer who held the token of the Flower Witch.]

Chen Qi felt a surge of joy. This box must be the reward the conductor had promised him.

[A bell tolled from far away.]

[Following that, you saw a tiny flame slowly ignite in the night sky. The flame burned, gathering together to form a sun.]

[The White Day is about to rise...]

[In the first ray of dawn, you snuck a peek at the items inside the box.]

Chen Qi swallowed hard.

A particularly glittering line of text popped up!

[You have received the reward provided by the conductor: Circuit Garment - Train Modified Version.]